Interview with Niranjan Nayak, Business Head for PV Inverters, Delta Power Solutions India

We are the leading and preferred inverter supplier in India since four years with much more than one third of market share, asserts Niranjan Nayak, Business Head for PV Inverters, Delta Power Solutions India in an interaction with Electrical India...

Please tell us about Delta’s Power Inverters’ business.

Delta Group, founded in 1971, is the global leader in power and thermal management solutions. Our mission is to provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow. Delta, as an organization, focuses in addressing key environmental issues such as global climate change. As an energy-saving solutions provider, Delta’s businesses encompass power electronics, energy management, and smart green life.

We are the pioneers in residential, commercial and utility scale (indoor and outdoor) PV inverters. Our major installations include airports, key metro stations, government offices, educational institutions, industrial establishments, residential properties, large solar farms etc with a total of 0.75+ GW installations across India.

Further strengthening the ‘Make in India’ an initiative launched by the Government of India to boost the multi-national companies to manufacture their products in India, Delta has set up a manufacturing facility at Hosur. Delta’s Central inverters are being manufactured at this factory with the current production capacity of 50MW per month; however, this production capacity will be scaled up to 200MW by January 2018. Delta worldwide offices and manufacturing facilities are in Taiwan, China, USA, Europe, Thailand, Japan, India, Mexico, and Brazil.

What do you observe as the trends in Indian renewable energy sector? What are the growth drivers of this sector?

Power is one of the most perilous components of infrastructure crucial for the economic growth and welfare of nations. The existence and development of suitable infrastructure is indispensable for the evolution of Indian economy.

India’s power sector is one of the most expanded segments in the world. Sources of power generation range from conventional sources such as coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power to viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar, and agricultural and domestic waste. Electricity demand in the country has increased rapidly and is expected to rise further in the years to come. In order to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the country, massive addition to the installed generating capacity is required.

Propelling the current and future growth in the solar energy such as infrastructural and economic growth, persistent energy deficit, government’s heavy subsidiaries, and preference to eco-friendly technologies and many more factors are the key drivers of solar energy sector. According to the sources of Bridge to India, as the Indian market inclines, it will be a significant mainstay for the growth when the demand in other leading countries including China, Japan and even possibly the USA is anticipated to slow down. We already foresee that the leading international solar suppliers currently paying more attention to Indian market by developing specific pricing and product strategies.

Besides, Rooftop solar will also continue its remarkable growth in 2017. We believe around 1.2 GW of rooftop solar capacity to be additional in 2017, up 75% from 2016, determined by investment subsidies and considerable demand from public sector. We are the leading and preferred inverter supplier in India since four years with much more than one third of market share. Largely, FY 2017-2018 will be a bumper year for the solar sector in India. Total installed capacity is expected to reach 18-20 GW by the end of the year.

What are Delta’s specialty products and services catering to solar energy segment?

Delta’s state-of-the-art Renewable Power Inverters’ portfolio includes grid tied transformer-less topology catering customers with residential, commercial and utility scale inverter requirements. This comprises of solar inverters for residential scale - 3kW, 5kW and 6kW; commercial scale - 10kW, 15kW, 20kW, 30kW, 50kW and 66kW. The utility scale of inverters are developed for Indoor- 1MW, 2MW and 4MW solutions and the outdoor range begins from 88kW(string inverter), 500kW, 1MW, 2.5MW and 3MW. Delta inverters are multi-faceted and can be used in every system size as well as are compatible with all commercially available solar modules and BoS. We also take the pride in informing that our 1500VDC inverter solution will hit the market by the end of 2017. And in the pipeline to launch hybrid inverter range by September 2017 which will further boost rooftop installations.

How unique are your products? Do you have R&D hub?

Delta Group offers their products with certifications in UL, IEC and JET by which we qualify to support the grid code for the whole globe. We offer world class inverters with best-in-class features, reliable and efficient power inverters at cost effective benefits without compromising on quality and service. Delta is a leading provider of inverter models to consumers that are customized to Indian grid conditions. In addition to their Industry’s high efficiency (up to 98.8%), Delta inverters are characterised by a long service life and are easy to install, maintain and monitor. With our well-established pan India presence and highly motivated and trained Photovoltaic solutions’ team, we are offering Delta customers fast and reliable local service support in terms of Application Engineering and after sales service support. We have developed solutions for Monitoring and Power Management Control which ensures that our customers are getting the most out of installed system. More than 1500+ different sites are being monitored with our in house developed monitoring system-DelREMO. Delta inverters are SCADA compatible and have been proven in some of the most demanding projects in India.

Delta PVI R&D team has strong capabilities in-house designing, component validation, type tests, anti-islanding and LVRT - Grid Simulation and we have one of the finest, high- end machinery and equipment. And with our global resources we constantly upgrade and strengthen our technological competences. Delta India is heavily investing on R&D and our new facility to house 1000+ R&D Engineers and is being set up in Bangalore by 2018.

India can become a renewable energy hub. Please comment.

Yes, India can become a renewable energy hub. India is leading global climate change initiatives and has tremendous potential in becoming pivotal green energy solar power hub. With the Government announcement of 100GW solar targeted by 2022, this has increased the scope for the solar industries, motivating the industry players for investment and by creating the industry demand. We are preparing India for a Better Tomorrow with Green Rich Power Energy.

What potential would you envisage for your company with the government’s reforms such as ‘Power for all’ and plans to add 88.5 GW of capacity by 2017 and 93 GW by 2022?

Currently we stand at the first position for Rooftop Inverters according to Bridge to India annual report. The 93GW goal by 2022 has developed a resolution in Indian Solar industry. Government is taking ample steps to create the investor’s interest by increasing energy petition and developing worldwide acceptance towards solar energy. These are the great opportunities for the Indian Solar industries to rapidly propagate.

We are investing 500 million USD at our proposed Krishnagiri manufacturing setup and in Bangalore R&D lab. In today’s highly competitive PV business where uptime is critical and productivity is of prime importance, Solar Inverters or Power Conditioning Units, being the heart of PV system, play a critical role. The inverter market is extremely fluid with ongoing innovations in technology, design and functionality raising efficiency and lowering costs.

Being a world leader in power conversion technology, Delta offers a complete product range of solar inverters, accessories and services to our partners and installers and the best photovoltaic systems to maximize profit. With over 750 MW of string and central grid-tied solar inverters already installed in India. The new Renewable Power Inverters (RPI) will provide wide range of frequency and voltage tolerances, single and dual Maximum Power Point Tracking topologies with higher efficiencies coupled with competitive pricing.

Delta is continuously enhancing our engineering capabilities and is committed to developing innovative technologies and solutions for a better tomorrow.